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Description
‘Circe-relief’ by Joseph Wackerle
Bas-relief (Flach-relief)
Circe was a Greek goddess and sorceress who lived with her tamed wild animals (which were actually bewitched human beings) on the mythical island of Aiaia. She was skilled in the magic of metamorphosis, the power of illusion, and the dark art of necromancy. When Odysseus landed on her island she transformed his men into animals, but with the help of the god Hermes, he overcame the goddess and forced her to release his men from her spell.
Another copy of the ‘Circe relief’ was exhibited in 1980 in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nürnberg. It was also casted by metalware production company ‘Osiris-Metallwarenfabrik, Walter Scherf & Co.’, in Nürnberg. The Osiris-Metallwarenfabrik (1899–1909) had won several prizes in Turin (1902), the Gold Medal of Konig-Ludwig Priz (1902), the Gold Medal in St Petersburg (1903/1904), the first and second prize in St. Louis, USA (1904) as well as the Gold Medal in Cape Town South Africa (1904/1905). In 1902 the company developed a new sort pewter (a mixture of lead and tin) called ISIS-metal. In 1906 they changed the name from Osiris into ISIS Werke GmbH. The designers of OSIRIS included Joseph Wackerle and Hermann Gradl.
Left: The ‘Circe relief’ displayed in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nürnberg from 20 September to 9 November 1980. Depicted in the exhibition catalogue ‘Und Nürnberg’, 1980.
Right: The Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nürnberg still owns a replica (plaster-cast) of the Circe relief. This plaster-copy, illegally made in 1908 by an employee of Walter Scherf and Co., was cast from a tin-model. See http://objektkatalog.gnm.de/objekt/Des1449 (also for the confirmation of the signature).
| – condition | : II |
| – size | : 37,5 cm x 18 cm |
| – signed | : ‘JW’ and ‘OSIRIS’ |
| – type | : bas-relief. Tin, with layer of copper and rests of green patina |
| – misc. I | : created between 1901 and 1909 |
| – misc. II | : casted by OSIRIS-Metallwarenfabrik für Kleinkunst Walter Scherf & Co |
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BIOGRAPHY: JOSEPH WACKERLE
Joseph Wackerle, ‘Spiegel‘ (‘Mirror‘). Attributed to. Cast by metalware production company ‘Osiris-Metallwarenfabrik, Walter Scherf & Co.’, in Nürnberg.
Permanent displayed by the Museum Wiesbaden as part of the collection Ferdinand Wolfgang Neess. The Neess collection consists of more than 500 objects, providing a crosssection of all the genres of Jugendstil, prime examples of the quality and stylistic virtuosity boasted by the art of the late nineteenth century (first public presentation of the Neess Collection on 29 June 2019).
Joseph Wackerle, ‘Neptunsbrunnen’ (‘Neptune Fountain’) in the Alter Botanischer Garten in Munich, 1937. The athlete Franz Altmann served as modell for the sculpture. Material: Kichheimer Muschelkalk. Depicted in ‘Die Kunst’, July, 1937 and in ‘Die Kunst im Dritten Reich’, 1937.
Adolf Hitler in Joseph’s Wackerle‘s Munich studio, 1936. In the middle: Gerdy Troost, wife of architect Paul Ludwig Troost. At the back we see a part of the sculpture ‘Neptunsbrunnen’.
Joseph Wackerle, the unveiling of the ‘Neptunbrunnen’, 29. Mai 1937, Alter Botanischer Garten, Munich.
Left: from left to right: State Secretary Hans Georg Hofmann, Joseph Wackerle, Gauleiter Adolf Wagner).
Right: view through the open door on the Neptunbrunnen (photos: Bayerische StaatsBibliothek).
Left: Joseph Wackerle, ‘Rossebändiger-skulptur’ (1938) in the City of Kassel.
Right: Joseph Wackerle, ‘Das Ziel’ (‘The Target’), GDK 1943, room 2; depicted in the exhibition cataloge. Also depicted in ‘Die Kunst’, August, 1943, and in ‘Die Kunst im Deutschen Reich, 1943.
Joseph Wackerle, two monumental figures ‘Rosseführer’ (‘Man Leading a Horse’) decorated the Marathon Gate in the Olympic Stadium in Berlin. Four metres high and created in Kirchheimer Muschelkalk (lime-stone), 1935/36 (still existing).
Joseph Wackerle, ‘Relief Pan’ and ‘Relief Nympfe’, both displayed at the GDK 1939, room 1. The reliefs were placed at the Kehsteinhaus at the Obersalzberg. ‘Pan’ was depicted in the GDK-exhibition catalogue, as well as in ‘Die Kunst’, 1939. Both reliefs are depicted in ‘Die Kunst im Deutschen Reich’, 1939.
Left: Joseph Wackerle, ‘Durch nacht zum Licht’ (‘Through the Night towards the Light’), in the City of Jena. Depicted in ‘Die Kunst im Deutschen Reich’, 1939.
Right: Joseph Wackerle, ‘Oedipus and the Sphinx’. Relief depicted in ‘Münchner künstler Köpfe’, 1937, page 339.
Joseph Wackerle, ‘Rossebändiger’, 1934, placed before the Ernst-Sach public swimmingpool in Schweinfurt.
Left: depicted in ‘Die Kunst für alle’, 1934 (‘Brunnen in einem Hof des Ernst-Sach-Bades in Schweinfurt’).
Right: photo 2014. The public swimmingpool is now ‘Kunsthalle Schweinfurt’ (a museum).
Joseph Wackerle, ‘Monumentalbrunnen’ (Fountain Figure). GDK 1941, room 2; depicted in the exhibition cataloge. Also depicted in ‘Die Kunst’, September, 1941.
Joseph Wackerle, Berlin. ‘Siemens Ehrenmales’, 1934 (War Memorial for the Siemens-employees who died in both World Wars). Located in Berlin-Spandau. Still existing.
Krochhochhaus
The ‘Krochhochhaus’ (‘Kroch-Tower’) build in 1927/1928 for the private bank ‘Kroch junior KG’, was the first skyscraper in Leipzig. It was designed by the German architect Bestelmeyer in the style of the Torre dell’Orologio on St. Mark’s Square in Venice. Standing some 45 meters tall, the eleven-story building at the Augustusplatz is an elegant structure of reinforced concrete clad in grey limestone.
An outstanding feature of the building and landmark of the Augustusplatz is located on the roof, made of three striking clocks. The bells (cast by Glockengiesserei Schilling & Sohne) are beaten by two 3.30 meter high bell-men; it was regarded as the largest tower-percussion of the world at that time. The copper Bell-Men are by Josef Wackerle. Below the bells is the Latin inscription VINCIT LABOR OMNIA (‘Hard Work Conquers All’) attached.
The sculptures photographed in 1929.
Left: Joseph Wackerle, ´Zwei Glockenschläger, Turmbekronung’ (´Two Bellringers´). Displayed at the Grosse Münchener Kunstausstellung 1928 (‘Gips für Kupfer’). Model for the Krochhochhaus, created in plaster. Depicted in the ‘Kunst für alle’, 1927/ 28.
Right: Josef Wackerle, ‘Glockenschläger’ (‘Bellringer’), a small copy of the Bankhaus Kroch bell-man in Leipzig, 1928. Height 89 cm. Depicted in exhibition catalogue ‘Wer, Wie, Wo war Wackerle?’, Werdenfeld Museum, 2009, and in ‘Josef Wackerle, Dem Bildhauer zum Gedächtnis’, 1960.
Left: Josef Wackerle, ‘Europa’, plaster model. Displayed at the ‘Staatlichen Kunstausstellung München’, Neue Pinakothek, 1933. Depicted in the exhibition catalogue as wel as in ‘Die Kunst für alle’, 1933/ 34.
Right: Joseph Wackerle, ‘Europa’ (other version), displayed at the exhibition ‘Deutsche Bildhauer der Gegenwart’, 1938, Krakow. Depicted in the exhibition catalogue.
Joseph Wackerle, reliefs at the façade of the Sigmund Schuckert-Haus, Nürnberg (build for Siemens AG). Created between 1937 and 1940. Fotos 2017. Both reliefs are depicted under the name ‘Relief am Siemensverwaltungsbau’ in ‘Der Holz- und Steinbildhauer’, 1941′.
Above: ‘Die Schmied des Vulkans’ (‘The forge of Vulcan’, God of Fire).
Below: ‘Architekt und Schüler’ (‘Architekt and Pupils’).
Left: Josef Wackerle, ’Halbakt’ (‘Half nude’). Displayed at the Grosse Münchener Kunstausttellung in the Glaspalast, 1927. It is said that figur stood in Hitlers house in Berlin. Terrakotta, 65 cm high, created 1903. Depicted under the name ‘Römerin’ in the book ‘Josef Wackerle’, dem Bildhauer zum Gedächtnis’, 1960. Depicted under the name ‘Römisches Mädchen’ in ‘Die Kunst im Deutschen Reich’, 1939.
Right: Josef Wackerle, ‘Merkur’ (‘Mercury’). Displayed at the Grosse Münchener Kunstausttellung in the Glaspalast, 1931.
The Dining Room of the Old Chancellery, two sculptures by Joseph Wackerle:
‘Jüngling, Erde’ and ‘Mädchen mit Krug, Volk’ als named: ‘Blut und Boden’ and ‘Adam and Eva’.
In the summer of 1933, Hitler commissioned Paul Ludwig Troost to remodel and refurnish the Old Chancellery. After the death of Paul Ludwig Troost in January, 1934, his twenty-nine-year old wife, Gerdy Troost, ran his architectural business (renamed in ‘Atelier Troost’) together with his former partner Leonard Gall. Whatever work remained in reimagining and re-modelling the residence (the Dining Room was already completed) fell to the Atelier Troost and was carried out from January to May 1934.
‘Since Hitler found the existing dining room too small, he commissioned a large addition that extended into the park at the back of the house….The neoclassical symmetry and ornament, typical of Troost’s designs, evoked the ancient Greek heritage that Hitler claimed for his imagined Aryan nation. Standing in niches on marble pedestals, two large bronze statues by Munich sculptor Joseph Wackerle represented Earth (‘Jüngling, Erde‘) and Volk (‘Mädchen mit Krug, Volk‘)‘: ‘Hitler at Home‘, by Despina Stratigakos.
Other names for these two sculptures were according to Friedelind Wagner respectively Heinrich Hoffmann: ‘Adam und Eva’ and ‘Blut und Boden’ (‘Hitlers Architekten, Paul Ludwig Troost’, page 236).
Hitler moved into his new quarters in May, 1934. American bombers destroyed the Old Chancellery, including the Dining Room, at February 3, 1945. Despina Stratigakos writes: ‘In her memoires, Traudl Junge, Hitler’s secretary, recalls that by the war’s end, the valuable objects in the Old Chancellery had been replaced with less-costly furnishings. If the art and furniture survived the war, their whereabouts today remain unknown.‘
The Old Chancelery, 1933/1934. Photo: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.
Above: left on the photo ‘Jüngling, Erde’ (‘Young man, Earth’), right on the photo ‘Mädchen mit Krug, Volk’ (‘Girl with Jar, Folk’).
Below: ‘Mädchen mit Krug, Volk’, depicted in ‘Hitlers Neue Reichskanzlei, Haus des Grossdeutschen Reiches’, 2002.
Left: Joseph Wackerle, ‘Jüngling, Erde’. Photo: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. A plaster model was displayed at the the GDK 1937, room 15 (depicted in ‘Die Kunst im Dritten Reich’, 1937).
Right: Joseph Wackerle, ‘Mädchen mit Krug, Volk’. Photo: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. A plaster model was displayed at the the GDK 1937, room 15 (depicted in ‘Die Kunst im Dritten Reich’, 1937). Also displayed at the exhibition ‘NS.-Gemeinschaft KRAFT DURCH FREUDE’, Kunsthalle Hamburg, 1938, organized in co-operation with Amt Rosenberg.
Discovery of 4 Third Reich-sculptures in Berlin, November 2016
In November 2016, German Art Gallery discovered 4 life size Third Reich-sculptures in the garden of the headquarters of the Ministery Finance, Wilhelmstrasse 97, Berlin. The bronzes were incorrectly described and/or described as ‘work by unidentified artist’ in the files of the German Bundesfinanzminsterium.
On initiative of German Art Gallery, Bild Newspaper published at 2 November 2016 the discovery of the sculptures, -by Joseph Wackerle, Richard Scheibe, Hermann Joachim Pagels and Heinrich Faltermeier. ‘Jüngling, Erde’ by Joseph Wackerle, comes from the Old Chancellery. The other three sculptures could come from the New Chancellery, but there is no hard evidence for that. They were definitely bought by Hitler at the GDK-1938, but they are not on the so-called ‘144-List’ of the 1938-New Chancellery purchases (the list, not exhaustive, is in our possession).
For more details, please check: Newsletter, November 2016
‘Jüngling, Erde’, November 2016. Found back by German Art Gallery in the garden of the headquarters of the Ministery Finance, Wilhelmstrasse 97, Berlin. It was discribed in the files of the German Bundesfinanzminsterium as ‘work by unidentified artist’.
Published by Bild newspaper on 2 November 2016.
Left and middle: Joseph Wackerle, ‘Jüngling, Erde’ respectively ‘Mädchen mit Krug’, depicted in ‘Die Kunst im Dritten Reich’, 1937. ‘Mädchen mit Krug’ was also depicted in ‘Kunst und Volk’, 1937.
Right: ‘Mädchen mit Krug’ in the Haus der deutschen Kunst.
Joseph Wackerle, ‘Relief am Telefunkenhaus‘, Berlin, Teilstück (part of the relief on the facade of the Telefunkenhaus, Berlin). Displayed at the Münchener Kunstaustellung, Maximilianeum, 1940. Depicted in ‘Die Kunst’, July, 1940.
Joseph Wackerle, 4 reliefs at the facade of a small exhibition hall in the Alter Botanischer Garten, build 1936 (still existing: next to the Park Café, located on the grounds of the former Glaspalast). Originally this building was intended as the state studio for Joseph Thorak until shortly after he received his massive studio in Baldheim near Munich. Designed by Wackerle and co-executed by his pupils Wissmeier, Sonnleitner and Goebel.
On top the reliefs ‘Musik’ and ‘Malerei’. Photos from 2015.
Below the reliefs ‘Bildhauerei’ and ‘Architektur’. Depicted in ‘Die Kunst’, July, 1937.
Left: Josef Wackerle, ‘Lynkeus der Turmer’ (‘Lynkeus, the Gardian’, from Goethes Faust II). GDK 1940, room 7; depicted in the exhibition catalogue. Also displayed at the exhibition ‘Junge Kunst im Deutschen Reich’, Vienna, 1943, organised by Reichsleiter Baldur von Schirach. Depicted in ‘Der Holz- und Steinbildhauer’, 1944, with the comment: ‘In the possession of the city of Nürnberg’.
Right: Josef Wackerle, ‘Relief für Architektur’ (‘Relief for architecture’). Displayed at the Münchener Kunstausstellung 1938, Maiximilianeum. Depicted in ‘Die Kunst’, 1938.
Joseph Wackerle, ‘Die Vier Elemente‘ (‘The Four Elements‘). Sculptures at the headquaters of the Münchener Rückversicherungsgesellschaft in Munich. Two of the Four Elements are by Wackerle, the other two are by E. Geiger. Depicted in ‘Bayerischer Kunstgewerbe-Verein, Kunst und Handwerk, -Zeitschrift für Kunstgewerbe und Kunsthandwerk seit 1851‘, edition 1914/1915.
Left: ‘Fire‘ by Wackerle. Right: ‘Earth‘ by Wackerle.
Below: the Münchener Rückversicherungsgesellschaft, headquaters. Photo: 2016.
Joseph Wackerle, ‚ ‘Drei Schicksalsgötiinnen‘, or the ‘Fountain of the Three Fates’, 1956, St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin. Bronze. Wackerle created the original model in terracotta in 1922.
The Three Fates Fountain was a gift to the Irish from the German Federal Republic. Its purpose was to show their thanks for the help and generosity the Irish offered the German people after World War II during times of intense distress and hardship. The Irish put forth great efforts to help German refugees after World War II focusing mostly on helping German children (approx. 500). They did this mainly through Operation Shamrock and the ‘Save the German Children Society’.
The sculpture consists of a group of three bronze figures from Norse mythology, representing the Three Fates, Urd (past), Verdandi (present) and Skuld (future). In Norse mythology these three female figures are known as norns, who rule the destiny of Gods and men. The text on the plaque reads: ‘This fountain, designed by the sculptor Josef Wackerle, is the gift of the people of the German Federal Republic to mark their gratitude for Ireland’s help after the war of 1939-45. The bronze group portrays the three legendary fates spinning and measuring the thread of man’s destiny.’
Joseph Wackerle, ‘Pinienzapfenbrunnen‘ (‘Pine-tree Fountain‘), 1937. Located in front of the Federal Ministery of Economical Affairs, Prinzregentenstraße, Munich.
Joseph Wackerle, relief ‘Orpheus’. Depicted in ‘Der Holz- und Steinbildhauer’, 1941. Location unknown.
Joseph Wackerle, ‘Atlas Brunnen‘, Bad Reichenhall. This fountain, likely created in the 1930s, originally stood at the inner courtyard of the Hotel Platterhof at the Obersalzberg. In 1953 it was removed to the neighbouring city of Bad Reichenhal. Made of Reddish-marble (‘Rötlichem Marmor‘), the same type of marble as used for the Neue Reichskanzlei. The photo at the bottom shows the courtyard of Hotel Platterhof.
Left: Joseph Wackerle, ‘Brunnenfigur’ in the garden of the house of Martin Bormann, the ‘Präsidentenvilla‘, located in Pullach, south of Munich. Depicted in ‘Die Kunst im Dritten Reich’, 1976, by Reinhard Müller-Mehlis, and in ‘Die Kunst im Deutschen Reich’, 1939.
After 1945 the Präsidentenvilla was the residence of the Bundesnachrichtendienst, the German Federal Intelligence Services (and ist predecessor the ‘Abteilung Fremde Heere Ost‘ lead by Wehrmach General Reinhard Gehlen).
Right: Joseph Wackerle, ‘Brunnenfigur’ (‘Fountain-figur’), plaster. Displayed at the GDK 1938, room 1 (depicted in the exhibition catalogue), and at the Münchener Kunstausstellung 1941, Maximilianeum. Depicted in ‘Die Kunst’, 1938 and 1941.
A bronze copy, height 212 cm, was displayed under the name ‘Venus’ at the exhibition ‘Kunst im 3. Reich, Dokumente der Unterwerfung’. The exhibition, instigated by the Frankfurter Kunstverein, was held from 1974 to 1975 in Frankfurt, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Ludwigshafen and Wuppertal; ‘Venus’ was depicted in the official art catalogus. The Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen is in the possession of the bronze ‘Venus’.
Pullach, the Präsidentenvilla in 2016, still the headquaters of the German Federal Intelligence Services (it will be centralized in 2017 Berlin).
Hitler celebrated the victory over the Frence at this terrace in 1940. At the background, left, ‘Galatea‘ by Fritz Klimsch; given by Hitler to Bormann.
Joseph Wackerle, Hoheitszeichen (Party’s eagle with swastika) on the gravestone of Paul Ludwig Troost. During the ceremonies marking the opening of the Haus der Deutschen Kunst in July 1937, Hitler visited the grave of architect Paul Ludwig Troost in the Nordfriedhof (‘Illustrierter Beobachter’, 22 July 1937). The bronze Hoheitszeichen was created by Joseph Wackerle in 1934; Troost and Wackerle had been close friends.
Joseph Wackerle, sculpture-groups at the facade of the Siemenshaus in Mannheim: ‘Four Elements’ and ‘Four Continents’. The Siemenshaus (now University of Music and Performing Arts) was built in 1921/22.
Using Google Streetview shows that the ‘Four Elements-group’ is apparently still existing.
Left: ‘Four Elements’: Ignis (Fire), Aqua (Water), Aer (Air) and Terra (Earth).
Right: ‘Four Continents‘: Europe, Asia, America and Africa.
Joseph Wackerle, ‘Kriegerdenkmal‘. War Memorial in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
Left: photo 2014.
Right: the unveiling of ‘Kriegerdenkmal‘ at 14 September 1924.
Joseph Wackerle, ‘Jüngling mit Pfeil und Bogen erledigt Hirsch’ (‘Young Archer killing Dear’. Created in 1922 in wood. Size 68 x 25% x 29 cm. Signed ‘JW 1922’. Sold by a German auction house in 2018.
Posener Bamberger
The ‘Posener Bamberger’ are Poles who are descended from Germans who moved from the area of Bamberg to villages surrounding Posen. They settled in villages which had been destroyed during the Great Northern War (1700 – 1721) and the subsequent epidemic of cholera. The condition for settlement was, according to the order of King August II of 1710, all newly arrived foreign settlers in Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth had to be Catholic. 500 to 600 men and women came to the abandoned farm fields in Poland, around 100 families in four waves of immigration. During the German occupation of Poland most of the Posener Bamberger were persecuted for their Polish identity. After WWII, for some time, they were suspected of collaboration with the Germans. The advent of democracy in Poland in 1989 saw the beginning of a renaissance of the Bamber culture. The best-known aspect of this culture are the rich female dresses.
In 1998 it was by the Bamberg fountain that the German chancellor Helmut Kohl met with the Posan-Bamberg people.
Joseph Wackerle, ‘Bambergerin’ (‘Bamberg Girl’s Fountain’), located in the city of Posen (Posnan, Poland). The drinking fountain with a girl wearing typical Bamberg clothes was inaugurated in 1915. It was originally located at the Altmarkt (Old Market Square), in front of the merchants houses across from Woźna Street. In 1929 the municipal authorities decided to move the drinking fountain to the western wall of the old town hall building. After WWII, the Bamberg girl was stored away and did not return to the Old Market until 1977; it was put back close to where it had stood before the war.
For the girl cast in bronze, Wackerle used a girl named Jadwiga Gadziemska from the Leopold Goldenring barroom at the Old market Square as his model. It represents a woman in typical Bamberg clothes carrying two vats on a pole across her shoulders.
Card from the Nationaal Museum in Poznań. At the left, posing, Jadwiga Gadziemska.
Joseph Wackerle, ‘Die Vier Erdteile’ (‘Four Continents‘), created in 1922. Lifesize white glazed majolica figures, representing America, Africa, Asia and Europe. Originally designed as column-figures for the Majolika Tempel of the Manufaktur Nymphenburg. Displayed in the main exhibition hall of the ‘Deutsche Gewerbeschau’ 1922 in Munich. Again displayed in 1927 at the ‘III Internationalen Kunstgewerbeausstellung’ in Monza (Italy), and at the exhibition ‘Europeïsches Kunstgewerbe 1927’, Kunstgewerbemuseum (Grassi-museum), Leipzig. Size 159 -164 cm. Sold by a German auction house in 2019.
Left: two of the majolica figures displayed at the exhibition ‘Europeïsches Kunstgewerbe 1927’, Kunstgewerbemuseum (Grassi-museum), Leipzig, depicted in ‘Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration’, 1927.
Right: two of the figures displayed in the main exhibition hall of the ‘Deutsche Gewerbeschau’ 1922 in Munich; depicted in ‘Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration’, 1922.
Joseph Wackerle, Terracotta-figures at the ‘Ausstellung München 1908’, Theresiënhöhe.
Left: portrait of Professor Joseph Wackerle’, by Fritz Erler. GDK 1940, room 23. Bought by Hitler for 8.000 Reichsmark. Size 117 x 94 cm. In the possession of the US Army Military Center of History.
Right: Professor Wackerle, by Leo Samberger. GDK 1939 room 26. Bought by the city of Berchtesgaden for 4.000 RM. In the possession of the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen (photo: Bayerische StaatsBibliothek).
Joseph Wackerle, sculptor of primal power
German sculptor Joseph Wackerle (1880–1959), the son of a builder, was born in Partenkirchen. He went to the Commercial Arts School and later to the Art Academy in Munich. Adolf von Hildebrand influenced Wackerle, just as he later influenced the sculptor Arno Breker. In 1904 Wackerle won the ‘Rompreis’ which enabled him to travel to France, Italy and the Scandinavian countries.
In 1905 Wackerle created ‘Bambergerin’ (‘Bamberg Girl’s Fountain’), which was placed in the city of Posen (Posnan, Poland). After WWII, the Bamberg girl was stored away and did not return to the Old Market until 1977. The ‘Posener Bamberger’ are Poles who are descended from Germans who moved in the 18th century from the area of Bamberg to villages surrounding Posen. In 1998 it was by the Bamberg fountain that the German chancellor Helmut Kohl met with the Posan-Bamberg people.
At the age of 26 years, Wackerle became the artistic director at the Numphenburg Porcelain Factory in Munich. In 1907 he was for the first time represented at the Biennale in Venice (VII. Esposizione Internazionale D’Arte della citta di Venezia) with two Nymphenburg porcelain figures (‘Figurina, -porcellana, Manifattura di Nymphenburg’). From 1913 to 1917 he worked as a teacher at the Commercial Arts School in Berlin. In 1917 he became the successor of Flossmann at the Commercial Arts School in Munich. From 1924 until the end of the Second World War he taught at the Art Academy in Munich. Joseph Wackerle created war memorials in Kehlheim, Partenkirchen, Nürnberg, Schweinfurt, and several other cities.
In 1927 Wackerly created the copper ‘Bell-Men’ which were placed on top of the Krochhochhaus (still existing); a gips model of the Bell-Men was displayed at the Glaspalast in 1928.
In 1928 he displayed three works at the XVI Biennale in Venice: ‘Mezza figura muliebre’ (‘Half nude’ in terracotta), ‘Moglie e figlio dell’artista’ (‘Wife and son of the Artist’) and ‘Margit e Pietro (‘Margrete and Peter’). In 1934 he displayed two works at the XIX Biennale di Venezia’: ‘Europa’ and ‘La moglie dell’artista’ (‘The Wife of the Artist’).
During the Third Reich, Wackerle generally worked on projects together with the architect Ludwig Troost. His style in those days is known as ‘tectonic sculpture’, in which movement and Baroque forms are combined. One of his best-known works (still existing) is the Neptune Fountain in Munich, 1937. The athlete Franz Altmann served as a modell for the sculpture. In 1936 Wackerle created the two impressive monumental figures ‘Rosseführer’ (’Man Leading a Horse’) for the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, as well as the two sculptures next to the entrance to the Dietrich-Eckart-Bühne of the same Stadium. From 1936 on he became a member of the Reich Cultural Council, followed by a membership in the Presidential Council of the Reich Cultural Chamber. Wackerle, a jury member of the GDK 1937, also created a series of reliefs, among them ‘Relief Pan’ and ‘Relief Nymphe’, both displayed in 1939 in the GDK and both were finally placed in the Kehlsteinhaus at the Oberalzberg.
In 1937 Goebbels had already nominated Wackerle for the ‘Deutschen Nationalpreis für Kunst und Wissenschaft’ (German National Prize for Art and Science). On the occasion of his 60th birthday in 1940, Adolf Hitler granted Wackerle for the award of the Goethe Medal for Art and Science.
The ‘Goethe-Medaille für Kunst und Wissenschaft’
The ‘Goethe-Medaille für Kunst und Wissenschaft’ (Goethe Medal for Art and Science) was authorized by Reichspräsident Paul von Hindenburg to commemorate the centenary of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s death on March 22, 1932. The Medal was in Hindenburg’s name given to Goethe scholars, artists, scientists, government officials and politicians. Among the recipients of the Medal were Chancellor Brüning, Max Planck, and the Nobel Prize winners Gerhart Hauptmann, Thomas Mann, Nicholas Murray Butler, André Gide, Knut Hamsun, Verner von Heidenstam, Guglielmo Marconi, Albert Schweitzer, Fritz Haber and Richard Willstätter. Other recipients were Benito Mussolini, José Ortega y Gasset, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Otto Klemperer, Carl Goerdeler, Paul Ernst, Hans Grimm and E.G. Kolbenheyer. About one quarter of the honorees of the Goethe Medal before July 1934 were non-Germans. Women were rarely considered.
Beginning in November 1934, Adolf Hitler, in his position as German Head of State, took over the awarding of the ‘Goethe-Medaille für Kunst und Wissenschaft’. Among them are the Nobel Prize winners Hans von Euler-Chelpin, Johannes Stark, Heinrich Wieland and Adolf Windaus, as well as five women: Anna Bahr-Mildenburg, Hedwig Bleibtreu, Agnes Bluhm, Isolde Kurz, and Lulu von Strauß und Torney. Under Hitler the Medal was generally awarded only on high birthdays or other important anniversaries. Many of the recipients were followers of National Socialism.
Eight works by Joseph Wackere were displayed at the GDK’s, including the reliefs ‘Pan’ and ‘Nymphe’, ‘Lynkeus der Türmer’, ‘Monumentalbrunnen’, ‘Das Ziel, ‘Jungling, Erde’ and ‘Mädchen mit Krug, Volk’. One of Wackerle’s half-nudes stood in Hitler’s house in Berlin. The life size bronzes ‘Jungling, Erde’ (‘Young man, Earth’, GDK 1937, room 15) and ‘Mädchen mit Krug, Volk’ (‘Girl with Jug’, GDK 1937, room 15) stood in the diningroom of the Old Chancelery. ‘Mädchen mit Krug’was also displayed at the exhibition ‘Der NS.-Gemeinschaft KRAFT DURCH FREUDE’, 1938, organised in co-operation with Amt Rosenberg. For the private rooms of Hitler in the New Chancellery in Berlin, Wackerle also created two nudes. Wackerle, whose name was put on the ‘Gottbegnadeten List’ in 1944, was without a doubt one of the favourite sculptors of Adolf Hitler, who had also personally visited Wackerle’s atelier to see the ‘Neptunsbrunnen’ (1936).
After the war Wackerly picked up his 1930s-style again. As he had not been member of the NSDAP (nor of any other Nazi-organisation) and his work had not shown swastikas or any other Nazi-related symbols, he could for the most part continue his work in the Munich area. In 1953 he was awarded the ‘Förderpreises Bildende Kunst’ (Visual Arts Promotion Prize) by the city of Munich. Critics claim that he created his best works before 1945.
In 1956 Wackerle created the ‘Drei Schicksalsgötiinnen‘ (‘Fountain of the Three Fates’), which was placed in St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin. The Three Fates Fountain was a gift to the Irish from the German Federal Republic, to show its thanks for the help and generosity the Irish offered the German people after World War II (the Irish put forth great efforts to help German refugees after World War II focusing mostly on helping German children, -approx. 500).
Joseph Wackerle died in 1959 Partenkirchen.
A bronze copy of ‘Brunnenfigur’, height 212 cm, was displayed under the name ‘Venus’ at the exhibition ‘Kunst im 3. Reich, Dokumente der Unterwerfung’. The exhibition, instigated by the Frankfurter Kunstverein, was held from 1974 to 1975 in Frankfurt, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Ludwigshafen and Wuppertal. The bronze ‘Venus’ is, together with ‘Moglie e figlio dell’artista’ and another work by Wackerle, in the possession of the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen.
In November 2016, German Art Gallery discovered 4 life size Third Reich-sculptures in the garden of the headquarters of the Ministery Finance, Wilhelmstrasse 97, Berlin. The bronzes were incorrectly described and/or described as ‘work by unidentified artist’ in the files of the German Bundesfinanzminsterium.
On initiative of German Art Gallery, Bild Newspaper published at 2 November 2016 the discovery of the sculptures, -by Joseph Wackerle, Richard Scheibe, Hermann Joachim Pagels and Heinrich Faltermeier. ‘Jüngling, Erde’ by Joseph Wackerle, comes from the Old Chancellery. The other three sculptures could come from the New Chancellery, but there is no hard evidence for that. They were definitely bought by Hitler at the GDK-1938, but they are not on the so-called ‘144-List’ of the 1938-New Chancellery purchases (the list, not exhaustive, is in our possession).
For more details, please check: Newsletter, November 2016